Google launches probe into Russian meddling of 2016 US polls

San Francisco, Sep 30 (IANS) After Twitter deleted over 200 fake Russian accounts used to meddle the 2016 US presidential election, Google has now launched a probe into the role its services could have played in the Russian interference, reports said.

“Google is conducting a broad internal investigation to determine whether Russian-linked entities used its ads or services to try to manipulate voters ahead of the US election,” The Wall Street Journal reported late on Friday.

Facebook has also started probing how Russian agents could have misused its advertising platform to influence the campaign.

The social media giant is facing intense fake news scrutiny after disclosing details about the presence of Russian political ads worth $100,000 on its platform during the presidential election.

The three tech giants have been reportedly asked to testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee panel on November 1 to examine how foreign actors may have used the social media to interfere with the US presidential election.

Twitter on Friday announced that it has deleted over 200 fake Russian accounts and identified Russia Today of buying bought ads targeted at American users’ accounts.

“This is an ongoing process and we will continue to collaborate with investigators. Twitter is in dialogue with congressional committees with respect to investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 US election,” the micro-blogging platform said in a blog post.

The company also shared with committee staff ads that three Russia Today (RT) accounts targeted to the US market in 2016.